Water sport and leisure activities are as popular as ever with the safe practice of these activities being at the forefront of every parent's mind. Parents wishing to take their infant children on aquatic activities have had to rely on cumbersome and ill-fitting personal flotation devices (PFDs) for quite some time. The problem is particularly felt for infants weighing less than 25 lbs. A further explanation of this problem will be discussed in relation to currently available PFD's.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,497 (French) illustrates an example of the configuration, or style, of a typical life jacket. The primary difference between a life jacket and a personal flotation device (PFD) are the safety standards which apply to them, but both can be considered personal marine buoyant devices to keep a wearer floating in water. These personal marine buoyant devices can be used in recreational, commercial and military applications. Most personal marine buoyant devices, simply referred to as PFD's from this point forward, have the same general configuration shown in FIG. 1.
PFD 10 of FIG. 1 is a vest-style PFD having a front float 12 and a back float 14. The front float 12 and the back float 14 are constructed of a buoyant material, which can either be a single unitary piece of material, or layers of buoyant material enclosed in a shell material, such as nylon for example. The front float 12 is segmented to allow a user to don PFD 10 like a jacket. A strap 16 is attached to the front float 12 to tightly secure the front float 12 and the back float 14 tightly around the torso of a user. While not shown, a zipper can be included for securing the two segments of the front float 12 to each other for a more secure fit. PFD 10 is but one example of the configuration of most PFD's currently available, but those skilled in the art will understand that many available PFD's have the same general configuration as PFD 10. Regardless of the style or configuration, the importance of a secure fit of any PFD is paramount.
The purpose of wearing a PFD or life jacket is to ensure that a wearer falling in water will float in a supinating position i.e., face up. For well-fitting PFDs and life jackets, the wearer entering the water should automatically find himself turned on his back with his face out of the water. A PFD which is not properly secured to the torso of the user, and/or is too large for the user, can result in the PFD slipping off the user. Some PFDs available for small children usually target the 20-30 lbs weight range. When such PFDs are used on even smaller children under 20 lbs, they can be uncomfortable and even dangerous to wear. When a vest-style PFD is used on an infant and is ill fitting, the infant can find himself cradled by the vest in either a pronating or supinating position with his/her face in or barely above the water. Unbeknownst to the parents, the infant child they think is protected by wearing the vest is not safe at all.
This is mainly due to the fact that the typical vest-style PFD such as PFD of FIG. 1, has a front float which is segmented. Each of the two segments, when secured together by a zipper or a strap, will generally conform to the torso of the infant, such that they form a “V”. This is illustrated by example in FIG. 2, which shows a cross section of a typical PFD 10, when the infant wearing PFD 10 has fallen face-first into a body of water.
When the PFD 10 is secured to a torso of an infant designated by reference number 18, the segments of front float 12 torso form a “V” shape. Due to the “V” shape and the weight of the infant, the PFD is biased to remain in this position. In other words, the infant will remain face-first in the water 20. Since small infants are not capable of repositioning themselves face-up in the water, there is a high potential of drowning.
In addition to not being safe, an infant wearing such a life vest will be uncomfortable and limited in his movements. Typically, the front of the PFD is too long for the infant. This leads to the front torso portion of the vest partly covering the face the infant when the infant is sitting. This can be remedied by partly unzipping the vest; however, by doing so, the relative safety of the PFD is decreased as the infant can slip out from the PFD.
Infant PFD's are available, as demonstrated by U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,266. FIG. 3 is an illustration of the infant PFD shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,266. This infant PFD 22 is of unitary construction having a front float 24 which is designed to conform to the torso of an infant. The strap 28 which encircles the front float 24 ensures that the front float 24 conforms to the torso of the infant. Because the front float 24 conforms to the torso of infant, the same problem with PFD 10 of FIG. 1 can occur if the infant falls face-first into a body of water. When secured to the infant, the rounded shape of front float 24 will have the same effect as the “V” shaped PFD of PFD 10 shown in FIG. 2. Once again, there is a danger that an infant incapable of righting themselves face-up can drown due to the front-first biasing in the water caused by the shape of the PFD when secured to the torso of the infant.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a safe PFD for infants. It is also desirable to provide a PFD for infants that will ensure that an infant wearer entering water automatically assumes a supinating position regardless of the way the infant enters the water. It is also desirable to provide a PFD for infants that is comfortable to wear and allows normal movements for an infant wearer.